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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 QR3

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(2021 QR3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.33 AU
True anomaly
169.39°
Distance from Earth
1.824 AU
As of
21 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 QR3 — 1.33 AU from the Sun 2021 QR3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 QR3 is 1.824 AU from Earth today (15.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 47m 25s
Declination
-28° 53′ 54″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
1.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
45.14° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
0.936 AU
Eccentricity
0.4403
Inclination
9.44°
Orbital period
330.7 days
Perihelion
0.524 AU
Aphelion
1.348 AU
Longitude of ascending node
356.51°
Argument of periapsis
119.66°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.3 LD
0.0135 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.312

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
36
Data arc
13 days
First observed
31 August 2021
Last observed
13 September 2021
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
13 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.92

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 41 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 QR3 at 2028-05-23 20:18 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-05-23 20:18 UTC close approach of 2021 QR3. Catalogue miss distance 78.7 LD · 3.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-05-20 to 2028-05-26, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 78.7 LD · 3.03 × 10⁷ km 2028-05-23 20:18 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-05-23 20:18 UTC close approach of 2021 QR3. Catalogue miss distance 78.7 LD · 3.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-05-20 to 2028-05-26, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-05-23 20:18:00 Earth 0.2023 AU 78.7 LD 17.2 km/s
2029-06-29 07:33:00 Earth 0.3541 AU 137.8 LD 9.8 km/s
2030-01-10 06:31:00 Earth 0.4712 AU 183.4 LD 19.2 km/s
2031-09-05 01:42:00 Earth 0.2894 AU 112.6 LD 22 km/s
2037-06-07 20:07:00 Earth 0.4736 AU 184.3 LD 26.7 km/s
2038-05-13 20:54:00 Earth 0.1834 AU 71.4 LD 10 km/s
2040-09-15 10:21:00 Earth 0.0285 AU 11.1 LD 12.7 km/s
2047-05-29 13:54:00 Earth 0.2895 AU 112.7 LD 20.5 km/s
2048-06-12 22:16:00 Earth 0.3148 AU 122.5 LD 9 km/s
2048-12-14 16:59:00 Venus 0.0987 AU 38.4 LD 15.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources